Saturday, 3 August 2013

Boko Haram Commander, Shekau, Shot By His Own Men

The highly dreaded leader of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Sheikh
Abubakar Shekau, has reportedly been shot and deposed by aggrieved
members of the sect who are close to him.

“The be-headings, the killings, the recent death of students …this is not the way of the Holy Qu’ran. We could tolerate it no longer."

Consequently, a new leader has been appointed for the sect.

The new leader, Abu Zamira Mohammed, who is the sect’s leader
negotiating with the federal government was unanimously chosen by the
group’s Shura Council.

The group also said that its ceasefire declaration is working, pointing
out that there has not been any suicide bombing since the declaration.
It condemned the Yobe massacre where 40 students were killed.

According to report, they said some politicians now commit murder and ascribe it to Boko Haram.

On the Kano blasts last Monday, which led to the death of about 45
people, the group blamed it on federal government’s tardiness in
responding to the ceasefire agreement.

A joint report published on Thursday by Dr. Stephen Davis, a conflict
resolution expert and an adviser to the last three Nigerian Presidents
and Phillip van Niekerk, President of Calabar Africa, a strategic
advisory company focusing on Africa, quoted one Imam Liman Ibrahim,
spiritual leader of Boko Haram, as saying that the change in leadership
was prelude to peace negotiations with federal government.

Recall that a faction of Boko Haram entered into a back-channel dialogue
with the government in the search for peace to a conflict that has seen
multiple suicide bombings, attacks on public buildings and churches,
and has claimed thousands of lives since 2011.

On why they decided to go against Shekau:
Imam Liman Ibrahim, spiritual leader of Boko Haram, explained that the
teaching of Shekau was becoming increasingly harsh and began to depart
from the Holy Qu’ran. “It was harsh, harsh, harsh,” Imam Liman said when explaining the reasons for the change of leadership.

“Imam Liman explained that Shekau was given a choice of joining the
peace dialogue with the government, forming his own sect or be killed. Several
senior Boko Haram commanders including Shekau’s Chief of Security and
personal bodyguard, Abdullahi Hassan, have claimed that Shekau has since
been shot in the lower leg, thigh and shoulder,” a report said.

The report further added that, "Shekau’s exact fate is not known. [But] a
video clip recovered from a Boko Haram camp in the Sambisa Forest
Reserve in the northeast Nigeria, raided by the military on May 16, shows Shekau limping, providing confirmation of reports he had been shot.

“However, Shekau has been noticeably absent from recent public
statements... It had been presumed that Shekau chose to voluntarily
leave peace discussions in the hands of Boko Haram’s leadership group.”

The JAS leadership were quoted as citing the Qu’ran as their inspiration for seeking peace.

“In the Holy Qu’ran, Sura At Tauba: Wa-injanahuu-Lisalmi Faji Nahlahaa, we are encouraged to seek peace. The Holy Qu’ran also tells us it is good to negotiate. Sura At Nisa Ayih: Wa-sulhu Haira.”

The report said “Boko Haram leadership has appointed Abubakar Babasani
Ibn Yusuf as spokesman to replace Zamirah. Babasani says the leadership
has been consulting all senior commanders to assure compliance with the
ceasefire. He said commanders as far afield as Niger, Chad, Sudan and
Cameroon have agreed to the ceasefire and discussions with the Nigerian
government on the subject of a peace deal.”

It would be recalled that Shekau launched a series of well-planned
assassinations and suicide bombings that targeted Police Force
headquarters, UN building and several churches in the Northern part of
Nigeria.